Shitake Quinoa Cakes & Ceviche over Radicchio-Endive Salad

Experimenting with salads can be daunting when you get bored with foods so quickly. This might sound more like a summer thing, but I eat this stuff throughout the year...

The menu was already thought out...bay scallops, cod, and a spicy lime marinade Ceviche with Shitake Quinoa Cakes. A local organic market, Whole Earth had some beautiful radicchio di verona (is actually Chicory- looks like a small head of red lettuce) and endives (Belgian White Gold) to compliment this dish. Neither need a dressing with the lime marinade of the cheviche spooned on top.

Both have a crunch with a tangy and bitter flavor that complimented the sweet, savory and spiciness of the other two in the bowl, and I love my homemade salsa on the quinoa...sometimes that is my lunch along with a small salad!

Quinoa Cakes

Cook the quinoa according to directions...but, let it over cook till it is just mushy enough to stick together. Add some oil or butter, finely chopped shitakes (my lil chopper), garlic powder, cumin, chili powder, salt and pepper to taste...set it aside to cool a bit.

Take a round mold (mine came from William Sanoma) and rub oil inside. Heat up a few drops of oil in skillet or non-stick pan, and press quinoa down into to it and pull up to release. I could have made mine a little shorter, the stack almost collapsed, but brown on both sides then plate with desired ingredients.

Ceviche

There are so many recipes out there, and I change mine often. I took cilantro, garlic, cumin, chili powder, salt and pepper, red onion, and lime juice in my 'lil chopper and made a puree. I soaked the fish and scallops in lemon water to begin the cooking process (citrus cooks fish); then drained it after an hour of being in refrigerator and poured my blended mixture over them and then plate.

Help I need a doughnut!

Well I have been craving them, but thank goodness there are not any convenient doughnut stores near me! Those commercial ones are filled with tons of Saturated fat and unhealthy flour they use, and making them with kids can be fun!

Kenny over at Chic Eats is to blame for his poetic reminiscence of a closed down chain of krispy goodness in I Miss You...his site is fun and a real foodie read...some of it is in his foreign tongue, but with the help of pictures I can fill in my own words...

So, I went on a search for a healthy version for Kenny and I to fit my eating style as of late...and I found a few goodies out there that even my clients son went for, so here we go...and I made some regular flour and oil versions (above) for Kenny and Raji...














My baked mini version Mardi Gras cake doughnut version...















Chocolate Drop Doughnuts in oil (rolled in powder sugar) were my favorite while I was working on a new painting of 'Jake at Window', a gift for one of my friends and her cat...















and so many more...but you know me I have to make my own version...and they were so yummy warm...and even after they cool and put into a container, my hubby said "Oh boy" when he saw them, he liked the regular and Mardi Gras bites the best!














I am walking some doughnut calories off!


Raw...her little coconut doughnut holes enticed me...maybe next time...

Truffle Butter Addiction & Veggies

I have decided that since I cannot have certain things in my diet I will substitute them for some truffle goodness...5 Star Foodie and Doggy Bloggy join me in the 'Truffle Love' in recent post...

I do not make meals for hubby on Tuesday's, I have Open Mic and double work duties before hand, so it will be the plate of truffle oil infused butter sauted Rabinni I made for our dinner the night before with a gluten free scallion and garlic wrap for my lunch and his dinner...ahhhhh leftovers are good indeed!



















Man cannot live on bread alone...but truffle oil infused butter sure does help!

I took some room temperature butter and infused many drops of oil, mixed well, and refridgerate for future use. Real truffles will work too, but until the fall you would have to order the ones in a jar, and they are not as good...

Its a Sweet Wrap! GF

This is my final wrap post for a while, and thought it would be fun to end it with a 'Sweet' theme since Valentines went past, but of course I did not make it in time due to a busy schedule this week gone by...

5 Star Foodie told me that her daughter Hannah was eating chicken quesadilla's for dinner a few nights ago, and then announced she wanted a sweet wrap for dessert. So she came up with some ingredients she had and thought about my 'Wrap' post...

here is what she made along with a recipe...you will see my version in a gluten free form...














Chocolate Kirsch Cherry Wrap

4 small whole wheat wraps or 2 large wraps
2 ounces of chocolate
2 tablespoons of whipped cream
1/4 cup cherry preserves or cherry pie filling
Splash of Kirsch

Directions:

In a double boiler, melt chocolate. Add cream and stir continuously for a few minutes. Add cherries and a splash of Kirsch and stir well. Let the mixture cool a little bit.

Spread the chocolate cherry filling in the center of the wraps and roll the wraps up. (optional) Top with whipped cream and/or chocolate syrup.














For mine I made a filling jam out of frozen cherries, cocoa powder, raw sugar, and dessert winein a hot pot till it thickens; set aside to cool down...




















I also took dried cherries, crushed (demolished) almonds, cocoa powder, and a dessert wine, and then folded it into the last of the GF wrap batter, and baked them...but you could not wrap them like the others, I put way too much gooey goodness in these...(they look rather like extremely large cookies), but they still tasted yummy!

Deciding that my dosai recipe works better for crepe like wraps that hold a filling and roll up better than the last batch...















Like the plate? Reminded me of animal print and how Valentines Day is suppose to be about the 'Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr'...

Pizza Wraps GF, and cherised wraps...

Do you have a favorite Valentines gift you have gotten over the years...you know one that really pulled your heart strings...

I have received many from my kids when they were little, but one that cherish so much and even keep it in plastic like our grandmothers did their formal living room furniture years ago...my daughter hand stitched a pot holder for me in school...I will always treasure this, and found it while cleaning out closets and storage...this pot holder was meant to 'wrap' around a hot pan so that her mommy would not burn herself!



















The second was from my hubby who got me a Movado watch...I cried, because no romantic partner ever bought me a gift like that before, and too because I wear an 8" bracelet (yeah big boned) and I knew I could not shut the clasp...laugh if you will, but I had to go spend $40 on my valentine gift to make it fit...

That is why when I cook for him, my children, and others over the years I put so much love into making them good, healthy and tasty dishes...Thanks to them I am the chef I am today!

So on to the new creations...Pizza Wraps...Most gluten free bread, tortillas, or chip recipes call for a large quantity of ingredients of each- cornstarch, tapioca flour, potato starch flour, white rice flour, and I wanted a less complicated recipe that I could whip up at a moments notice. This can also be used for making individual or 6" pizza rounds and I used Prosciutto San Danielle...















Quinoa Pizza Wraps/Crust
(Gluten free flatbread)

- 1 cup quinoa flour

-1/2 -1 tsp salt

-1 tbls psyllium husk

-1 egg

-3/4 cup water

-sauce, make sauce or store bought

-Prosciutto slices

-grated cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F

Mix the salt, psyllium husk and quinoa flour together, add the egg and water gradually so that it resembles a thick porridge, wait for a couple of minutes and then spread the batter on to a baking tray lined with baking paper, I spread a little oil on pan as it holds the paper steady for you.

Bake for approximately 12 minutes, the time depends on the flour you used and also on how thick you have spread it. The thinner it gets, the faster it bakes. You must cover these and place them into either a sealed container or I placed them covered with cloth in microwave so that they steam themselves and soften to roll; otherwise they work just fine for pizza crust and cookies.

Oiled pan, spread sauce, add any ingredients desired, and slip back into hot oven to meld, and eat!

Scallion and garlic thin wraps (added ingredients before baking) will go right into microwave on paper to steam and easier to remove...use for a turkey or veggie wraps later...















Two of these six inch rounds were pretty filling...

Next 5 Star Foodie and I once again do a duo blog about our 'Sweet Tarts'...no I mean 'Wraps'!

Heart'y Red Lentil Lemon Grass Soup

Another busy week has gone by and with my extra performance art night on Friday I just did not have the time to get busy on my wrap experiments; which will happen Sunday. I did however find time to take a whole organic-range free chicken and make stock out of it for this soup. Something I would suggest doing ahead of time or one might not make this right after arriving home from their job on a weeknight.

Red lentils have been on my list to try. They are the fastest cooking lentil that we have on the market today (well I have seen that most split ones work this way). The skins begin to come off after about five minutes of cooking and they begin to come apart after about ten minutes, so you want to add them towards the end. During the cooking process (which I was disappointed with) the red lentils, or pink, change color to a yellow-gold. They are great for making soups and chowders. Most health food markets carry this variety.















I took some leeks, scallions, and lemon grass (all organic) and saute them in some oil along with garlic, red pepper flakes, roasted red peppers pieces, and salt/pepper to taste. I chose not to add coconut milk and just keep it...simple? Is that word really in my vocabulary...



















I was happy to find this lemon grass, because it is so not fun to chop up! Saute it to bring out the flavor...

Also, when you make the chicken stock, start it off slow in cold water. Skim off the 'muck' that rises slowly to the top, it helps make a clear broth, and simmer for three or four hours on medium-low heat till the chicken is falling off. Separate the batch into two...if not you have will a soup that is so strong with chicken flavor you cannot taste the other ingredients.

(repeat) Saute the leeks, scallions, and lemon grass along with the garlic, and red pepper. Add to the stock and add water to thin out the chicken flavor like it comes in those organic boxes of stock.
















This made at least four quarts of soup, so we have leftovers for the next few days and I will freeze some for the future...

Food Journaling

I have been talking the talk lately, and finally am walking that walk...while I was absent a few nights ago I went for a few health food organics I was low on, and saw this lovely journal and decided to get it going. So, I have decided to do a few weeks or more of my 'Friday Food Travels' past and present...

If anyone of you have thought about doing this knows just how hard it is to admit what we have eaten each day, if we haven an unhealthy path. We know some of the habits started shortly after birth, and also must have been taught eating survival skills in time of faulty economies that we are just as guilty in helping to support...



















Each day I will write in between some of the stuff I pasted, sort of like a mini scrap book...yeah I will keep track of the 'Scrap' or should I say 'Cra...' I eat that helped me get as big as a fish I wish I could catch and have a huge fish bake for all of ya!



















This is the future chef at a year, and from what I heard growing up I would eat anything, even the guppies my brother was feeding me when my mom walked in one day...I do love my sushi!



















I just bought an inexpensive book and took some ribbon and a few scrap book odds and ends and viola! Whipped it up just like a batch of quinoa coated tomatillos...



















We are always the person we were once, we just have to remind ourselves we can do it again...